Shipping and display container



May 12, 1936. M. P. CORTILET SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed May 51, 1955 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 12, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIPPINGAND DISPLAY CONTAINER ApplicationMay 31, 1933, Serial No. 673,656

4Claims. (Cl. 20644) The 'presentinvention relates to a" combination. shipping and displaycontainer"for artioles such as packaged goods that aredisp'layed and sold; for example, in grocerystores orthe-like, and

5,. has" particular reference to" the maintenance of astacked relation or-display form forsuch' articles which" is provided" before and maint'ained during shipment" to the-end that no rearrangement' is'necessary when the shipping case con- 10,- tainingthe same openedbythegrocer and-thearticles arevt'aken out fordisplay:

The presentfinventiom contemplates arranging the"articles in attractive display'form -within a display holder 'which' permitseasy handling of 5 the articles en masse for slipping into'ashipping case'andwhemthe same are to be displayed, holderan'd *articles are easily slipped out ofthe. case and set-up fordisplay without disturbing their relationship.

a combination unitfor'differentsizeseof articles such" as packaged" goods which are arranged ina. display'iorm'and handled asbefore mentioned, a-

collection ofdifferent sizes being particularly de- 25;, sirable* for smallshipments which allow for a varied) assortment of sizes in the one display group obviating the necessity of the-small grocer,

for exampler stocking hisstorewitlmaz greate quantity of packages thanhe needs.

a-display unit of articles arranged: in attractive display-form withina holder which .permits easy handling oi the group without disarrangement. of the individual articles and permits shipment 5 in -t-hisform-as Well as subsequent display;

' While-such a display form may take. any size or" dimension desirable, dependinguponithe shape, size; or'variety of shapes or sizes. out thearticles composing it, a pyramidalor' step form is both 40a attractive and desirable, thatxis, the outlinesof the display group as a whole are not rectangular butthe dimensions are of diiierent lengths and/or breadths at different heights. Such a group mass when set into arectangular shipping case is not 46; closely confined anddoes not conformto the inside dimensions of the case, and the present in vention under such circumstances contemplates i "Suclra'holder and shipping case-is adapted to An ob ject of thednvention is theprov-ision of.

to permit their individual removal from the stack if desired.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view of a shipping and display container embodying the present invention andillustrating the shipping case after filling and before it is closed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the holder with the articles in display positionand with the filler units in relation to the articles and as they would appear when removed from the shipping case;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the display holder and its contained articles, showing a preferred display form; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the holder illustrating one side prior to being folded back into final holding position, parts being broken'away.

The shipping case of the combination shipping and display container herein illustrated comprises a rectangular box I l which may be formed from fibre stock in the usual manner, this box having upper flaps l2 adapted to be folded down into closed position in the usual way when the case is sealed for shipping.

A holder I3 is provided which may also be formed from fibrous material or other suitable stock, this holder having a rear vertical wall I (Fig. 4) and side walls [5 which preferably connect with a narrow front wall it. The rear, side and front walls are bent at their lower ends to provide bottom flaps I! which form the supporting bottom of the holder. Each side wall I5 is bent inwardly along a line of bend l8 (Fig. 4). The section of the side wall above the line of bend is brought down close against the inside of the holder l3, thus producing a triangular wall 2| (see also Fig. 3) of double thickness Beyond the side fold and adjacent the rear wall I each side wall is again bent along a line of bend 22 (Fig. 4) and the flap against the rear wall I4 of each side is hooked under and caught in a lug 23 struck-in from the rear wall by an arcuate cut 24.

The display holder so formed is adapted to support and maintain the articles in display position. In the drawing there is disclosed by way of example, an arrangement of three rows or tiers of different sizes of articles or packages, the larger size25 resting upon the bottom I! of the holder. The lower part of the holder, including the front Wall I6, closely fits the lower row of articles.

An intermediate size of articles 26 is then superimposed upon the lower row of the larger size.

The smaller group in the second. tier is set back from the front face of the larger articles below and also from the side faces, as best illustrated in Fig. 3. Still another and smaller size of packages 27 is included in the display group herein considered and the outer faces of these are also set back from the front and side faces of the articles below, thus producing a general pyramidal form of display. Along the back the three sized articles 25, 26, 2'! engage the rear wall M, which maintains them in vertical alignment and permits the attractive form of display illustrated in Fig. 3.

The triangular sides 2! of the side walls of the holder allow for a view of the display form and also permit accessibility to the individual articles in the display when removal of the articles is to be made.

Any other shape and size of display mass may be obtained by the proper combination of size and number of articles in the different rows. The outlines of the display mass will, however, for the most part, be other than rectangular and a cubical mass will ordinarily not be used.

The bottom I? of the holder i3 is slightly smaller than the bottom of the case H and the holder with its stacked articles may be easily inserted in the case I I. In order to fill in the spaces between the inside walls of the case and the outside walls of the articles in the different rows filler units are used. To this end the spaces within the holder i3 adjacent theintermediate row are preferably filled with side filler units 3| and a front filler unit 32.

These filler units may be formed in any suitable manner, a skeleton form preferably of fibrous material as disclosed in the drawing being found satisfactory for the purpose. The spaces adjacent the upper row of articles 2? are also filled with side filler units 33 and a front filler unit 34. The lower row may fit the surrounding walls of the holder and no filler units need be used.

These filler units may be inserted in the holder 43 and a rectangular mass of filler units and articles may be obtained prior to the insertion of the holder l3 into the shipping case II or the holder with the articles may be first inserted and the filler units afterwards placed separately in the shipping case. The first method is illustrated in Fig. 2, the holder 13 being completely filled with its articles in display position and with the filler units arranged around in their proper positions adjacent and on the articles so that the entire rectangular or substantially cubical outline of the combination is a unit mass as shown.

In either event, by using the filler units the display form of the articles is maintained in position within the holder l3. By means of the holder the articles en masse are easily slipped into the shipping case I i when shipment is made. The articles, the filler units and the holder are also easily taken out of the case, the latter affording an easy carrier or support. It is then only necessary to take off the filler units in order to fit the combination holder and unit mass for display, as shown in Fig. 3.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material-advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A combination shipping and display container, comprising a display holder adapted to retain a plurality of different sizes of articles in shipping and display positions, said holder having a horizontal bottom which is shaped to support one tier of articles of a given size and having surrounding walls which snugly hold these articles in a predetermined arrangement, the rear wall of said holder aligning the back edges of the articles in the lower tier with the back edges of the smaller articles in other superimposed tiers, each side wall of said holder being folded upon itself to constitute rearwardly inclined reenforced walls of double thickness permitting clear visibility of the superposed tiers of articles carried by the display holder, said arrangement constituting a combination display and shipping position for the articles, all of the articles in each tier being of the same given size which is larger than those in the next tier directly above, and a shipping case for enclosing said holder and its positioned articles while retaining their arrangement, said display holder with its individual articles providing an article display unit which may be easily withdrawn from the shipping case when used in its display capacity.

2. A combination shipping and display container, comprising ,a display holder adapted to retain a plurality of different sizes of articles in shipping and .display positions, said holder having a horizontal bottom which is shaped to support one tier of articles of a. given size and having surrounding walls which snugly hold these articles in a predetermined arrangement, the rear wall of said holder aligning the back edges of the articles in the lower tier with the back edges of the smaller articles in other superimposed tiers, each side wall of said holder being folded upon itself to constitute rearwardly inclined reenforced walls of double thickness permitting clear visibility of the superposed tiers of articles carried by the display holder, said arrangement constituting a combination display and shipping position for the articles, all of the articles in each tier being of the same given size which is larger than those in the next tier directly above, a shipping case for enclosing said holder and its positioned articles while retaining their arrangement, said display holder with its individual articles providing an article display unit which may be easily withdrawn from the shipping case when used in its display capacity, and skeleton filler units for filling the side and front spaces occasioned by the receding arrangement of the superimposed tiers of different sizes of articles to provide a snug fit in the said shipping case, said skeleton filler units being removed when the article display unit is withdrawn from said shipping case.

3. A combination shipping and display container, comprising a display holder adapted to retain a plurality of different sizes of articles in shipping and display positions, said holder having a horizontal bottom which is shaped to support one tier of articles of a given size and having surrounding walls which snugly hold these articles in a predetermined arrangement, the rear wall of said holder aligning the back edges of the articles in the lower tier with the back edges of the smaller articles in other superimposed tiers, each side wall of said holder being folded upon itself to constitute rearwardly inclined reenforced walls of double thickness permitting clear visibility of the superposed tiers of articles carried by the display holder, the folded portion of each side wall being again folded to extend partially across the said rear wall and secured thereto to augment the reenforcement of the display holder, said arrangement constituting a combination display and shipping position for the articles, all of the articles in each tier being of the same given size which is larger than those in the next tier directly above, and a shipping case for enclosing said holder and its positioned articles while retaining their arrangement, said display holder with its individual articles providing an article display unit which may be easily withdrawn from the shipping case when used in its display capacity.

4. A combination shipping and display container, comprising a display holder adapted to retain a plurality of difierent sizes of articles in shipping and display positions, said holder having a horizontal bottom which is shaped to support one tier of articles of a given size and having surrounding walls which snugly hold these articles in a predetermined arrangement, the rear Wall of said holder aligning the back edges of the articles in the lower tier with the back edges play holder, said arrangement constituting a 10 combination display and shipping position for the articles, all of the articles in each tier being of the same given size which is larger than those in the next tier directly above, a shipping case for enclosing said holder, and its positioned articles while retaining their arrangement, said display holder with its individual articles providing an article display unit which may be easily withdrawn from the shipping case when used in its display capacity, and skeleton filler units for filling the side and front spaces occasioned by the receding arrangement of the superimposed tiers of different sizes of articles to provide a snug fit in the said shipping case, said skeleton filler units being removed when the article display unit is withdrawn from said shipping case.

MICHAEL P. CORTILE'I'. 

